Schmerzräume

This event brings together performance, readings, and visual art, creating a space for criticism of gender medicine and opening up new perspectives on health, pain, and structural inequality.

The artists Alice Muitoevoli Rugai, Anna Frehiwot Maconi, Elena Agebo, Jana Petersen, Susana Vásquez Torres, and Henok Getachew Woldegebreal explore topics such as chronic illness, medical gaslighting, and the transformative power of pain from personal and artistic perspectives.

Short biographies of the artists

Elena Agebo, born in Cologne in 1997, studied Applied Literature and Cultural Studies in Dortmund. She writes poetry and prose, and her work explores identity, alienation, and language. In 2023, she was awarded the Dortmund LesArt Prize for Young Literature. Her texts have appeared in the journal BRACHE, among others.

Alice Muitoevoli Rugai was born and raised in Tuscany, Italy, and has lived in Berlin since 2017, where they studied theater studies and playwriting. They write plays, poetry, and prose in Italian, German, and English. Their work addresses BI+ identity, class relations, and biodiversity. Their plays are represented by S. Fischer Theater & Medien. Their most recent publication is the queer-feminist speech *Class Language, Body Struggles, Part-Time Woman*, which was selected by the Brückner-Kühner Foundation for the anthology *Ungehaltene Reden Ungehaltener Frauen* (*Unrestrained Speeches by Unrestrained Women*) and published in the volume of the same name.

Anna Frehiwot Maconi is a Berlin-based researcher and author. Her work explores concepts of diasporic identities, the influence of nation-states, and the role of mobility in memory, historical narratives, and urban governance.

Jana Petersen studied social and cultural anthropology and religious studies at the Free University of Berlin (FU Berlin) and graduated from the Evangelical School of Journalism in Berlin. Her writings have appeared in outlets such as Deutschlandfunk, the *taz*, *Zeit Online*, and *Feministische Studien*, as well as on the literary journalism platform waahr.de. Petersen has received numerous awards for her work. In 2026, her essay “Die wunde Stelle mitten unter euch” was published in *Ich! Ungehaltene Reden ungehaltener Frauen* by S. Fischer Verlag. Petersen has two children and lives in Berlin.

Susana Vásquez Torres, born in Lima in 1990. Bachelor of Fine Arts (ENSABAP), Master of Arts in Context (UdK Berlin). An interdisciplinary feminist artist working in the fields of performance, screen printing, book art, and documentary animation. Her work addresses violence, femicide, menstruation, migration, and grief through intersectional feminism and community art. Through projects such as “Omas Projekt,” “Bleeding Stories,” and “The Wounded Hours,” she creates spaces for empowerment and new narratives that challenge patriarchal and colonial patterns.

Henok Getachew Woldegebreal was born and raised in Addis Ababa—a city shaped by constant political, social, and architectural changes that have deeply influenced his artistic perspective. Before devoting himself to art, he studied physics for two years. He then transferred to the Ale School of Fine Arts and Design, where he earned a degree in art education in 2008. In 2009, Woldegebreal co-founded the Netsa Art Village, an experimental artists’ collective in Addis Ababa that focuses on critical dialogue, creative exchange, and alternative forms of learning and unlearning. Since 2017, Woldegebreal has lived in Berlin, where he is currently completing his master’s degree in “Art in Context” at the Berlin University of the Arts. Alongside his academic work, he continues to experiment with various media in his studio, including performance, installation, and painting. He also regularly leads intuitive art workshops that invite participants to explore creative processes beyond traditional methods. His works have been presented at various festivals as well as in museums, galleries, and independent art spaces both locally and internationally.